Oh, My Pop Culture Religion: Women, Sexuality, and the Devil

Nothing bothers me more than the fact that religion has such a bad relationship with sex. In my particular experience, I am sick and tired of Christians having so many hangups about sex. I don’t necessarily have an issue with some Christians wanting to wait to have sex until marriage—I don’t agree with it, but as long as Christians don’t judge people who chose to do something different with their sexuality, then I’m fine with it. But that tends to not be the case. Individual Christians might be fine with it, but many Christian institutions tend not to be. I can’t tell you how many times as a kid I attended events that said “sex is a gift from God” but then proceed to say things like “but if you ever masturbate you’re sinning, if you think about sex you’re sinning, if you have sex ever then not only are you sinning but you’ll probably get a sexually transmitted disease, get pregnant, and even (especially if you’re a woman) you’ll be used up and broken.” This might not always be the intentional message, but I have seen and talked with enough teens to know this is the message that often gets through. The constant push from Christians to avoid any sort of sex or even exploration of sexuality certainly diminishes the belief that sex is a gift from God. But these modern problems aren’t the only thing that makes it seem like sex isn’t a gift from God. It’s Christianity’s long history of portraying sex as evil. Christianity has long listed numerous demons whose whole purpose was to tempt humans into some sort of “sexual perversion”, from Satan to Lilith and many others. There is also an obsession in Christian history with regulating peoples’ sex lives. There was a time when even married sex was considered lustful if it wasn’t done for procreation. Anything beyond married procreative sex was seen as the temptation of the devil.

Unfortunately, that’s not all. According to many religious teachings, this temptation into sexual sin was often seen to manifest itself primarily through women. Women were often thought to be more susceptible to lustful urges and temptation. Women were furthermore thought to have a closer connection to the devil because of this and because of their connection to Eve, the first woman, who was believed to have caused the downfall of man. And this is even reflected in our pop culture. I’m more than a little annoyed that more often than not in our pop culture, any and all sexuality is connected to the devil or demons, and that is all often wrapped in a nice sexist bow. While it’s understandable that our pop culture gets these ideas from religious sources, it’s certainly not healthy or helpful.

A Witch Talks The Witch Part 2

Welcome back, dear reader. You might be thinking, “That last The Witch post was so long; this guy has more to say?!” I do, in fact. While I tried to walk the reader through the muddled plot of the film in that post, this one will be a more personal, philosophical response to the film. I fear most people will leave the film simply saying to themselves, “That wasn’t scary enough!” and then shrug and forget about it; however, I also think there will be a sizeable portion who will lose sleep trying to ask themselves, “What does it all mean?!” I certainly fall into the second camp, and it is with particular urgency I ask myself that question. As one of the people in the world seeking to claim a connection on some level with the word “witch”, it is important to me to try to decipher as much as I possibly can, to pick the film to the bone for every last scrap of meaning, since the word “witch” is being flashed before the public imagination. It’s important to me to ask what it means that the film goes with the late medieval and early modern conception that witchcraft and Satanism are one and the same. Heck, the film was even endorsed by the Satanic Temple. Is the devil truly inextricably linked to witchcraft? Are witches damned, and if so what does that mean? Let’s take a look.

A Witch Talks The Witch Part 1

Gentle reader, if you follow the blog closely enough to be somewhat familiar with the various authors, you might know that I consider myself something of a witch. Though I have at times tried to elucidate my spiritual leanings with descriptors such as “eclectic post-Wiccan shamanic neo-Pagan, with influences from Hinduism to Hellenism”, I find “witch” rolls off the tongue a little easier. Something about the richness of the word “witch”, the dark, damp, fertile history of the word, is one of various things that first brought me to Wicca so many years ago. Though at times I waver closer to or further from the word, I find it difficult to imagine a time when I no longer have any connections whatsoever to this potent word and its associated practices. So when I first saw word of The Witch spreading around the interwebs, my interest was piqued. The Wiccan Boom the 1990s promised me never came to pass, so there’s been a dearth of witchy media since Charmed went off the air, except for the recent fiasco that was Witches of East End. This was the first time I’d seen a movie with such an explicitly witch-themed title getting press and interest since The Craft. On top of that, even Stephen King voiced his approval on Twitter! Of course I had to check it out.

And check it out I did. I was hesitant to write a post about it after my first viewing; it conjured up (pun intended) so many thoughts and feelings, I worried I wouldn’t be able to make anything resembling coherence out of the juices of my mind grapes. But after a couple of days of processing, a second viewing, and hours of bouncing ideas around with my fellow author MikelyWhiplash (including the possibility of whether or not Taylor Swift is a witch), I think I just might be ready to tackle this haunting work of cinema. Did I like it? Hard to say: it is visually a macabre pleasure to watch, and I think it’s important for bringing witches back to the popular imagination. Enter with me the world of The Witch. Verily yon wood be filled with witches, and also spoilers.

Oh, My Pop Culture Devil of Hell’s Kitchen: Is Daredevil the Religious Hero We’ve Been Waiting For?

Daredevil, the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first Netflix original series, came out a few weeks ago, and it’s been pretty well received by most people (including me). While no one on this blog has written a straight review of the series yet, I imagine it’s only a matter of time; in the meantime, I’m interested in talking about Matt Murdock and Catholicism.

Comics have been doing a pretty good job lately insofar as realistic representation of religion is concerned. From Kitty Pride talking about dealing with anti-Semitism to Kamala Khan just existing, we have a variety of heroes of different religious backgrounds doing their thing on the printed page. However, this hasn’t yet translated to the MCU; save for Cap’s offhand remark about how God dresses, we haven’t seen a single reference that implies any character follows a certain faith. (Remember, I’m talking about the MCU specifically, not X-Men or other films.) And it wouldn’t be difficult, as I’ve pointed out before; anything from an offhand remark about a Hanukkah gift to a character making the sign of the cross in a stressful situation would do it. It goes without saying, then, that I tuned into Daredevil with some trepidation on the religion front. Matt Murdock is probably one of the most devoutly religious Catholic characters in comics (that I’m familiar with, at least). Would his faith make the jump to the screen?

Thankfully, yes, but in a somewhat imperfect way. Some mild spoilers for the show after the jump!

Oh, My Pop Culture Jesus: Exorcisms in Pop Culture

As we get closer to Halloween, I feel I am morally obligated to talk about spooky religious things. So this week, we will be discussing exorcisms in pop culture.

Though other Christian denominations also perform exorcisms, for the purposes of this article I will largely be focusing on exorcisms in Catholicism because those seem to be the types of exorcisms most often portrayed in pop culture.

Ironically, I find horror movies about possession and the devil to be one of the most pro-Catholic type of movies, even if they are a bit misguided. In the real world, many people are uncomfortable when the Pope, or any religious figure, says something about evil, or, specifically, the devil. Yet they seem relatively comfortable with the idea that if there ever is a real need for an exorcism, the Catholic Church can handle it. Many people try to make a belief in demons or the devil out to be superstitious and silly. I personally know some Catholics who find it embarrassing that the church still believes in such things. But whether or not you believe in demons and the devil, I think all people fear a loss of control and the unknown. And so the idea of a religious institution that battles these fears can be pretty appealing, even to those people who don’t believe.

As a religious person, what most aggravates me is how wrong exorcism movies tend to be in their portrayal of the battle between good and evil.

Oh, My Pop Culture… Devil? Doctor Who’s Impossibly Confusing Planet

Don’t get me wrong, fellow Whovians; I love the “The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit” double episode. It’s got the shippy Ten/Rose stuff that I live and breathe; it’s got genuinely interesting sciencey-wiencey concepts, it’s got foreshadowing to die for, and it’s got an edge-of-your-seat, truly terrifying plot. I’d easily rank this among the scariest episodes of Doctor Who, maybe beaten only by “The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon”.

What about theologically, though? This episode presents a lot of interesting and potentially confusing ideas that I’d like to parse through.

Oh, My Pop Culture Jesus: Universal Salvation, The Devil, and Fanfiction

So there is a topic within Christianity that is pretty taboo. No, not gay marriage, not Mary’s virginity, or anything about communion. This idea is so taboo that it’s almost never discussed: the idea that Lucifer, the devil, can be redeemed.

The very idea seems absurd and blasphemous to many Christians. In fact, I dare you to bring up the idea to any Christian. Some may simply dismiss the idea, and others may even be offended that you would dare suggest such a thing.

The redemption of the devil is actually a pretty old idea and one that was popularized by Isaac the Syrian, a seventh century mystic and bishop who is considered a saint by both the Eastern Orthodox Church and Catholic Church. Isaac the Syrian believed in a concept called universal salvation. Universal salvation is the belief that God is so loving and merciful that even if there is a hell, it’s empty, because God would never allow anyone to be damned. This idea has been critiqued because it seems to diminish free will. Some theologians that believe in universal salvation have added to this concept, saying that it is possible for us to reject God and condemn ourselves to hell, but that God would never reject us and would in fact forgive us of everything. Isaac the Syrian was so radical in his belief of universal salvation that he actually believed that there is no such thing as a just God. God, he argued, cannot be just because he is so in love with us. This idea, however, is incredibly controversial.

Another theologian named Rob Bell wrote a book called Love Wins, which discussed similar themes. He actually never completely says he agrees with universal salvation, but argues that Christians should hope that all people, no matter what, go to heaven. This so enraged people that in an interview on MSNBC the interviewer basically attacked Rob Bell and accused him of “amending the Bible to make it palatable”. MSNBC isn’t even a Christian station, so it was surprising that they were outraged. What should have been an objective interview turned into an attack on Rob Bell’s morality. I will never understand how people get so upset with the idea that others might not go to hell. And Rob Bell’s ideas of universal salvation didn’t even include the devil.

Isaac the Syrian, however, believed that Lucifer and the other fallen angels would be redeemed as well. Because they were created by God, they were originally good, and at the end of days all things will be reconciled back to God. Isaac the Syrian actually actively prayed for the redemption of the devil.

Despite this idea being, in my opinion, a really interesting idea, it’s not one that has been used that often in pop culture. The closest that anyone has gotten is probably Neil Gaiman in The Sandman comics. There is one notable episode were Lucifer decides to quit and simply leaves hell, but he isn’t really redeemed so much as retired.

There is one place in pop-culture where this idea is played out, however, and that’s in Supernatural fanfiction.

Oh, My Pop Culture Jesus: Sympathy for the Devil

In the land of pop culture, Satan acts as our bridge to discuss God and morality. Throughout many movies, TV shows, and books Satan questions God and the morality that God has set forth. The last post I did about Satan, I talked about Al Pacino’s closing speech in The Devil’s Advocate. While Al Pacino’s devil is clearly evil, his final speech does make the viewer question a lot about God and morality, while Satan declares himself a humanitarian for wanting humans to be able to do whatever they want. The speeches cause the viewer to question God—clearly what any Satanic figure would want—but the way the movie is written and performed never causes the audience to actually sympathize with Satan. Basically, after watching The Devil’s Advocate I wouldn’t be surprised if people could see the devil’s “point”, but still think he is entirely wrong and a bad person.

And once again it is time to talk about Supernatural!

Oh, My Pop Culture Jesus: The Devil is Totally Evil

The devil is totally evil and you should hate him! Actual religious beliefs affect how religion is portrayed in pop culture, and of course affects how religious figures are portrayed. Now, Satan may not be Jesus. He’s not a paragon of virtue that is upheld by believers (unless they are Satanists, but we aren’t talking about them), but nevertheless he is an extremely important character in Judeo-Christianity.

Because Satan is an evil character, pop culture often pits him against the noble and righteous characters. When we talk about the devil in pop culture, we are often talking about the typical villain archetype. He is evil without reason or remorse. He does everything he can to destroy our virtuous heroes. Not only does he attempt to destroy them in the typical “I’m going to kill you” way, he also attempts to destroy our heroes by tempting them to evil. By doing this the devil gains more souls for hell and turns people away from God.

A lot of people say that Nazis are the perfect villain, because everybody hates them. You will never have a theater full of people getting pissed at how Nazis are treated. Well, pencil in Satan next to Nazis. Our default setting is to hate Satan. There is nothing endearing about him. Furthermore, he has a plus side over the Nazis—he is more interesting. Remember this is a character that according to most Judeo-Christian mythology is someone who was best friends with God before rebelling against him. Again, our default is to assume God is good and awesome. God created us, gave us life, and free will, so why would someone hate him?

Oh, My Pop Culture Jesus: The Devil

The Devil, Satan, the great beast, the great dragon, Christianity’s great villain has many names and has been one of the greatest characters in Western pop culture since human beings first talked about him.

Some of you may have rightly noticed that I did not discuss the devil during my apocalypse series. That’s because Satan is so much more than one little apocalypse and it would be really wrong of me to cram him into that little segment.

So for the next couple of post I wanted to discuss the various different portrayals of Satan in pop culture. How the devil went from evil beast, to misunderstood revolutionary, and finally to a complex figure that maybe says more about who we are than who the actual devil is.

So tune in next time and get so religion!